Text: Matthew 9:
27-31
Date: August 16, 2020
Place: SGBC, NJ
Matthew 9: 27: And when Jesus departed thence, two blind
men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David, have mercy on
us. 28: And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus
saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea,
Lord. 29: Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it
unto you. 30: And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them,
saying, See that no man know it. 31: But they, when they were
departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.
Do we over complicate faith? We see things necessary for a sinner to have faith
in Christ and things included in true faith.
One, the Lord Jesus came to where these two blind men
were—a sinner will only seek Christ after Christ has first sought him; God must
draw us
Two, they had heard of Christ and how he had worked miracles—healed
the lame, raised the dead, absolved sins—26: And the fame hereof went abroad
into all that land. “Faith cometh by
hearing and hearing by the word of God.”
They heard the gospel of Christ in spirit and in truth, the means
through which the Spirit of God, had given them faith.
Three, these men knew
their need and inability. They knew they
were blind and unable to heal. Faith
involves knowing our sin and inability.
Four, these men came publicly
confessing Jesus to be the Christ. They “followed
him, crying, and saying, Thou Son of David.”
That is the same as crying, “Thou are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.” Faith believes the man Jesus,
is the Son of David and the Son of God: the Christ, Messiah, God’s salvation
for his people. Faith is not ashamed to confess
him publicly, to own him as your Lord. No
man can call him Lord but by the Spirit of God and no man speaking by the
Spirit of God can call him less.
Five, faith comes to
Christ himself asking mercy—They cried “have mercy on us. And when he was
come into the house, the blind men came to him…” Faith comes to Christ himself—not to a
system of doctrine, not to a creed, not to a church denomination—faith comes to
the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith asks
mercy—faith knows I deserve nothing; if he does anything for me it will be mercy;
only “if thou art willing.”
But do we complicate
faith? Notice what the Lord asked them—"Jesus
saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea,
Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
And their eyes were opened.”
Proposition: Faith is believing Christ is able: able to do all that is
necessary to save me.
The Lord our God is the God of omnipotent ability with power
unlimited. He can do anything he wills. Omnipotence knows no obstacles. Whatever is
required to accomplish the purposes and promises of God, "HE IS ABLE"
to perform.
Subject: Believing
Christ is Able
Divisions: We
will look at several scriptures to see what all faith believes Christ is able
to do.
ABLE TO PERFORM PROMISES
Romans 4: 18: [Abraham] against hope believed in hope,
that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was
spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19: And being not weak in faith, he considered
not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet
the deadness of Sara’s womb:20: He staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21: And being fully
persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for
righteousness.
Faith believes God is able to perform all his promises. God promised Abraham that Abraham would
be the father of many nations—father of an elect people out of many nations. Though Abraham was old and Sarah was past the
age of child bearing, Abraham believed God.
He “fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to
perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”
Faith believes that what God promised he is able also to perform.
That is faith which glorifies God. We see this again with Abraham. After God gave Isaac, God told Abraham to
sacrifice Isaac. Abraham believed God
was able to bring his original promise to pass that Christ would come through
Isaac. So Abraham, in his heart, sacrificed
Isaac. He offered up Isaac in his
heart. It was Abraham’s heart to obey
because he believed God was able
Hebrews 11:19: Accounting
that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he
received him in a figure.
Our great God is able
to perform all his covenant promises. God
promises to make a new covenant, writing it on the hearts of his people, so
that all his elect shall know him. He
promises “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
(Jer 31:31-34) God promises to gather
all his elect people and cause them to dwell safely in Christ. Omnipotence promises to give us one heart and
ONE WAY—Christ the Way—that we might fear him forever. God promises he will never let us depart from (Jer
32: 37-40).
Faith believes God is able to perform all that he
promised (Gen. 3:15; 2 Tim 1: 9; Ti 1:2).
The two blind men believed the word they heard concerning Christ. They believed he was able to give them sight. Faith is being “fully persuaded that, what
he had promised, he was able also to perform.” Do you believe God is able to do what he
promises in his word? God has never
failed to perform one word he has spoken.
ABLE TO SAVE AND DESTROY
Matthew 10:28: And fear not them which kill the body, but
are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell.
James 4:12: There is one lawgiver, who is able to save
and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
Faith is given along with a fear of God. Therefore, we believe God is able to save and
destroy. God gives fear with faith so
that we believe it is God that we should fear rather than men. Men can only kill my body; God is able to
destroy both my soul and body in hell with the death that never dies. By this God abases us. He makes us stop judging others to justify
ourselves and makes us judge ourselves to be sinners.
Daniel 4:37: Now I
Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works
are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to
abase.
The thief on the cross was condemning Christ right along
with the other. But God gave him faith and
a fear of God. God abased him. He feared God rather than men; he said to the
other thief,
Luke 23: 40: Dost
thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due
reward of our deeds; but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me
when thou comest into thy kingdom. And
Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day thou shalt be with me in
paradise.
The two blind men heard
God’s word and God gave them a fear of God together with faith. It is evident they feared God more than men because
they were not ashamed to confess Christ publicly before men. Do you believe that God is able to destroy both
body and soul in hell? That he is able to save and destroy? “The fear of God is
the beginning of wisdom.” Faith fears
God rather than man. That is one reason
faith is not ashamed to confess Christ publicly.
ABLE TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST
Hebrews 7:25: Wherefore he is able also to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them.
Christ is the great, eternal, immutable High Priest of
his people. He laid down his life. Christ shed his own blood, not the blood of a
sacrifice. Then he entered the holiest
of holies with his own blood on behalf of all those the Father gave to him. He has obtained eternal redemption for his
people. He is alive now—ever living to
make intercession for those he redeemed, for those he is drawing to himself.
Faith believes God’s word concerning sin. A believer is made to know that he is the very
worst of all sinners: unrighteous, ungodly, unable. But faith believes Christ is able to save to
the uttermost all that come unto God by him.
By his effectual atonement, by his infallible grace, by his prevailing
intercession Christ is able to save all who trust him. He is the one way to God
The blind men believed Christ was able to save them. Do you believe Christ is able to save even a wretch
like yourself? He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
ABLE TO KEEP AND
PROVIDE FOR US
2 Timothy 1:12…I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day.
Faith believes that
Christ is able to keep us unto the end while providing everything we need
between here and there. The blind men
committed their eyes to Christ believing he was able to give them sight. Faith commits
ALL to Christ believing he is able to keep us unto the end.
One, faith believes that when we are unbelieving and cast
down and need comfort, Christ is able—Hebrews 2:18: For in that he himself
hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
He is touched with
the feeling of our infirmities. God our
Savior knows what we need and is all powerful to give it. Christ is able to comfort his tempted people
with his sympathetic heart and omnipotent arm.
Peter denied Christ three times. But as soon as Christ arose he sent a comforting
word to Peter. Then he came to Peter and
comforted him. He did not hide himself
from him. He did not tell his brethren
to have nothing to do with him. Faith comforts
his fallen brethren. Christ lovingly
went to Peter comforted him.
Two, faith commits all to Christ persuaded he is able to
keep us from falling—Jude 24: Now unto him that is able to keep you from
falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with
exceeding joy, 25: To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty,
dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Through Jude God commands us to keep ourselves in the
love of God. But we cannot do it. We are powerless to do it. But then he says—“now unto him that is
able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence
of his glory with exceeding joy.” Peter
said, “we are kept by the power of God through faith.” Paul’s confidence for his brethren was,
Philippians 1: 6: Being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Three, involved in keeping that which we have committed
to him, faith believes Christ is able to make our brethren stand—Romans
14:4 Who art thou that judgest another
man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be
holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
It is really our unbelief that judges brethren and encourages
others to judge a brother: to stand in suspect of him, to condemn him, to
revile him. Faith believes Christ is the
Master over my brother. Faith believes
Christ is working in my brother—when he stands and when he falls. Faith believes Christ shall hold him up—for God
is able to make him stand. So faith
commits a fallen brother to Christ.
Four, in keeping us, faith believes Christ is able to build
us up in faith by his word—Acts 20:32: And now, brethren, I commend you to
God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give
you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Faith believes God is
able to build me up using the word of his grace. He is able to keep me from temptation and keep
when I am tempted. He is able to keep me
from falling and to keep me when I fall. He is able to keep me in faith, in Christ, in
sanctification (I Thess. 5:25). He is
able to do all this through the word of his grace.
Five, faith believes God is able to give us grace
sufficient to meet every need—2 Corinthians 9: 8: And God is able to
make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all
things, may abound to every good work: 9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad;
he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. 10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both
minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase
the fruits of your righteousness;) 11 Being enriched in every thing to all
bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
Our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask. He
has already provided all that we need in Christ. He will not fail to provide
all lesser needs. Christ is able and
willing to supply our needs (Heb. 4:16).
But remember, God will not supply our greed; but he always supplies our
need.
If he feeds the
sparrow, he will not let his children go hungry. If he clothes the flower of the field, he will
clothe his family. If he gives the fox shelter,
he will provide shelter for his own household.
He assures us of this to keep us seeking things above, to keep our affection
on Christ, not on things on the earth. Seek
the kingdom of God and his righteousness, not the things of this world. Having Christ’s word that his grace is sufficient,
that he will provide, our everyday cares should not cause us any anxiety or stress
(Matt. 6:19-34).
ABLE TO RAISE FROM THE DEAD
Philippians 3:21: Who shall change our vile body, that it
may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he
is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Faith believes Christ is able to raise us from the dead
with a glorified body by the power by which he is able to subdue all things. He subdued satan. He is able to subdue chosen sinners by his
grace. He is able to subdue all things to his purpose. Therefore, he is able to
perform the resurrection of our bodies.
Brethren, do you believe Christ is able to do all things
necessary to save us and not lose one of his blood bought people? Truth is that these things we have seen are
only an exceedingly small part of what he is able to do. Let me end with Paul’s words,
Ephesians 3: 20: Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or
think, according to the power that worketh in us, 21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Amen!